At Build 2017, Microsoft unveiled a suite of creative tools called Windows Story Remix, which will let users quickly and easily blend photos and videos into a video clip that’s perfect for sharing via social media. There was a broadly positive response to the tool — but the release version won’t be as complete as what was shown on stage.
Microsoft product marketing manager Ashlie Little has been fielding questions about Story Remix on Twitter this week. Yesterday, one user inquired about the availability of a special effect involving imported 3D models from Remix 3D when the Fall Creators Update launches later this year. Little replied saying that it won’t be live at launch, but confirmed that it’ll follow shortly afterward.
Chris Pratley, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for photo and video, weighed in not long after. He confirmed that Little only meant that specific feature will be missing. Some had taken the tweet to mean that the entirely of Windows Story Remix could be absent.
Story Remix will be in the Store when RS3 launches (auto-updates the existing Photos app). RS2 minimum, but RS3 for full functionality.
— chris pratley (@chrispr) August 15, 2017
Story Remix will apparently be available as an automatic update to the Photos app via the Windows Store when the Fall Creators Update drops. Pratley went on to suggest that announced features will continue to be added to the app throughout the lifespan of this iteration of Windows 10, so it’ll constantly be receiving new updates with new content.
So what will be available at launch? According to another tweet from Pratley, the special effects that were showcased on stage at Build 2017 will be available for users, and more will follow on “soon after.”
It’s good to hear that Story Remix will be a part of the Fall Creators Update at launch, even if it might not be as comprehensive a version of the app as some would hope. Just last month, it was confirmed that the Timeline feature wouldn’t be ready in time for launch, with Microsoft’s vice president of Windows suggesting that it would be shipped to Insiders shortly after the update is released.
Microsoft is yet to offer up an official release date for the Fall Creators Update — but since Insiders can already jump ahead to future builds, it can’t be too far off.
